Gnocchi with chicken & courgette sauce

When I made this beauty for dinner last night it didn't cross my mind that I might jinx the beautiful weather we've been having over the past couple of days - it still felt like summer. But this morning when I woke up the autumn has finally arrived with it's grey sky and rain. So in hindsight I'm actually quite happy that I've got three more portions of this lovely and filling pasta left to eat over the next couple of days. I've put two portions of it in the freezer and will let you know whether it turns out alright or not.

I decided to make this because for the couple of days before, all I could think about was that I really-really want something with courgette in it. I probably spent a good couple of hours trying to find that something that just popped out and made me rush to the store. However as I did not manage to find that something special I decided to experiment and I had no idea how it would turn out. And oh my did it turn out well, even if I do say so myself.

It's easy and quite quick to make and I love that the portion sizes are really generous. It's really filling and warming, but at the same time no too heavy. I was really surprised that I did not have to add any water or chicken stock as the courgettes helped to keep it liquid enough throughout the whole process. This is definitely something that I'll make again over the coming months to keep the grey and cold from getting to me.

Ingredients
(Serves 4)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 500g courgette, cubed
- 380g chicken breast, cubed
- 1 can chopped tomatoes
- Parmesan cheese
- 500g gnocchi
- Fresh basil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Mixed italian herbs

Directions
Heat the oil in a thick bottomed pot and fry the onion and garlic for around 10 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add the chicken and fry until seared on all sides. Then add the courgette and fry for another 5 minutes unit it starts to soften. Then add the chopped tomatoes and season with salt, pepper and mixed herbs. Bring to simmer and place the lid on the pot and simmer for 30 minutes or so.

Then add some torn basil, a bit of parmesan cheese and the gnocchi and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Place on a plate and serve immediately with some basil, fresh pepper and parmesan.

Inspired by the BBC Good Food recipe "Tomato & Courgette stew"

 

Courgette & Feta penne

Dear friends, first of all I'd like to apologise (again) for disappearing from my blog for a bit. But believe it or not, this time I have a decent excuse - I've been very busy moving from one continent to another and in addition to all the errands I've had to run I started the last bit of my legal education last Monday so my days have been full of trying to get everything ready. Also, I won't have internet at home until late October so it's quite tricky to get the posts up in the library without getting evil looks for not studying, so I finally found out where the closest public library is and signed up for that. But enough of the excuses and on to the food.

Last week I had a very dear friend of mine over from Estonia with her boyfriend so eating together took priority over making them wait until I take the photos for my blog, with the exception of our last dinner together. To finish the week off we decided it would be a great idea to have pasta, especially as we'd had chicken, fish and beef during the previous days. And as the autumn has arrived properly we opted for a very hearty dish - the moment I opened my pasta cookbook and found a pasta recipe with courgette in it that I had bookmarked ages ago we had to look no further, especially as courgettes are in season at the moment. 

One of the big perks of cooking from scratch at home is that the house (or flat in my case) is filled with divine aromas. Most of the stuff that I've made, especially the cakes, leave the flat smelling nice but I have to admit that this dish probably created the best smell I've ever had whilst cooking something savoury. Firstly the sizzling courgettes in olive oil, then the aromas of garlic (you either love it or hate it) and to top it all of some lovely white wine (I used Pinot Grigio). After it was done simmering for 10 minutes of so the whole flat smelled so lovely - very hearty and autumn like. Now add to that slightly salty Feta, aged parmesan and some wholemeal pasta and what you get is an amazing (and quick!) dinner to help you get through those cold and dark autumn nights. Serve with a glass of crispy white wine and you're all set for a lovely evening at home.

Ingredients
(Serves 3-4)
- 300g wholewheat pasta (I used Penne)
- 2 smallish courgettes
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 100ml white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
- 200g Feta
- Fresh basil, to serve
- Parmesan cheese, grated, to serve
- Garlic bread, to serve

Directions
Firstly wash and slice the courgettes. Then heat the oil in the pan and fry the courgette on both sides until golden brown. Add crushed garlic and fry for another couple of minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer for 10 minutes. In the meantime cook the pasta in salted water, strain it and place back in the pot. Chop up the Feta and basil and add to the pasta. When the courgettes are done add them in as well, then mix well and serve with a generous amount of Parmesan.

Recipe inspired by the Penne suvekōrvitsa ja Ricottaga in "Pastaraamat"

Simple tuna & pasta salad

Before turning to today's post, I'd like to let you know that I've added a new smoothie recipe (check them all out here). As most of you know I've been spending a considerable amount of my time at university over the past two weeks (just one more week of intensive course to go!) and I have to admit that I'm not the biggest fan of the food available there. So, I've just resorted to bringing my own lunch and/or dinner with me. I know it adds to the weight of my bag, but it's really worth it.

I've pretty much exhausted my appetite for the plain green salads that I made for myself the last term and therefore I've had to resort to coming up with some new ideas. Whilst I was doing some food shopping last week, I stopped in the pasta aisle and had a look at what there was - I've never realised that the choice of different pasta (different shapes, sizes and ingredients) is so big. And as I was already going to try out a new recipe I decided to try out a new pasta at the same time - two birds with one stone. I made the salad with rice and millet pasta and to be honest, the only real difference I could tell was that this one was a tiny bit sweeter than the 'normal' pasta (but let's be honest, nothing beats the 'normal' pasta). There is no big difference between the nutritional values of the two but the rice and millet pasta is supposed to be easier to digest and also can be eaten by people with different food sensitivities and allergies (it is vegan, gluten free etc). I wouldn't say I would from now on just eat that, but I would seriously consider incorporating it into my diet if I want to be a bit nicer to my digestive system.

Anyway, enough about the pasta itself - turning to the salad. It is incredibly easy to make and you can add anything you wish (e.g. sweetcorn and tomatoes) to your salad. This combination gives you a nice base to have it on its own or to improvise further with. If you're not a big fan of capers, by all means leave them out. But I really recommend at least giving a try because I find that capers add a really nice touch to the salad, making it taste a bit more interesting than just pasta and tuna would. This is perfect for packed lunch (that's what I've been doing with it), easy to make and will keep you full for quite a few hours.

Ingredients
(Serves 2 - approx 400 cal per serving)
- 125g pasta, boiled
- 1.5 cans of tuna (in water)
- 3 tsp capers
- 60g iceberg lettuce
- 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions
Boil and drain the pasta and leave to cool down. When the pasta has cooled down, mix together all the ingredients and serve (or place in a box and keep in the fridge until serving).

Penne Bolognese

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for neglecting my blog for such a long time, but I've been so incredibly busy over my Christmas holidays that I even haven't had time to catch up with sleep. And secondly, before turning to the first post of the year, I'd like to wish all of you my dear readers a happy new year!

As bolognese is one of my favourite pasta sauces I decided to kickstart the new year with that. It is one of those recipes that at first might seem like a bit too much work, but actually it is so easy to make. The only thing with bolognese (and with most other stews) is that the longer you cook them the tastier they are. This sauce can be easily made ready in 50 minutes, but I usually try to cook mine for around 3 hours. What I tend to do is that I put it on around lunchtime and then leave it to simmer while I either tidy the flat or study or do something at home and then eat it for dinner. And whenever I make it at home I make a huge batch and then divide it up and freeze it so I could have it whenever I get my pasta cravings. Another thing to note is that the sauce will be as good as the ingredients are that you put in it - make sure it is quality beef as it makes a huge difference in taste.

I really love that the sauce itself is so incredibly simple, but at the same time it tastes so delicious. Serve it with al dente pasta and freshly shaven parmesan for a delicious meal.


Ingredients
(Serves 4)
- 400g Penne (or other pasta)
- 2 tsp oil
- 100g bacon
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 400g good quality minced beef
- 500g tomato puree (passata)
- 500ml beef stock
- 1 tsp oregano
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 tsp sugar

- Parmesan, to serve

Directions
Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add chopped bacon, onion and garlic and fry for few minutes. Then add minced beef and fry for another 5 minutes. Lastly add the passata, oregano and beef stock. Bring to boil and then turn down the heat and simmer covered for 50 minutes (I usually cook mine for 3 hours) and stir it every once in a while. Before serving, season with salt, sugar and pepper.

To serve, boil the penne, place on deep plates, pour over the sauce and add a generous sprinkle of parmesan. Serve immediately

Recipe from book "Pasta"

Chicken & pesto penne

I know I promised to be healthy with my posts, but in all honesty pasta can be considered relatively healthy if you have wholegrain pasta and don't serve it with loads of cream. And as this tastes really good I just had to share it - especially as I improvised all the way. I came up with this dish one day after coming home late after lectures and as all the shops had already closed I could not pick up anything. To add to that, I honestly had no idea what I had in the fridge. My choice was either go home and make something up as I go along or have a take away. Thankfully I decided to give it a go at home.

To my luck I had some pasta, chicken and pesto at home. Surprisingly, the result of my improvised dinner was so good that I decided to share it. It's quick to make and has everything you want in your pasta dish without the unhealthiness - lean chicken, tomatoes to count towards your 5-a-day, crème fraîche instead of the cream for the creaminess and pesto to top it all off. And as always, no pasta dish is perfect without some, or in my case a generous sprinkle, cheese on top. It is quick, really nice and filling, but at the same time not too heavy - it could be nicely served for a dinner during the summer. For a more sophisticated take on the dish add some pine nuts to the pasta and serve with a nice glass of chilled white wine.


Ingredients
(Serves 1)
- 100g wholewheat penne
- 110g chicken fillets
- 50g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 tsp crème fraîche
- 1 tbsp pesto
- Parmesan to serve

Directions
Put the pasta to boil. In the meantime chop up the chicken fillets to small cubes. Fry them in some olive oil until nearly done, then add the cherry tomatoes to the pan and fry stirring until the chicken is ready. Then put the crème fraîche and pesto on top and mix well to cover the tomatoes and the chicken. When the pasta is done, drain it and place back into the pot. Add the chicken and pesto and mix well over some heat. Place the pasta in a bowl and serve with a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Penne carbonara

Firstly, I would like to apologise for having such a big gap between this post and the last one. I had a minor technical problem, which, thankfully, has been sorted out.

Carbonara sauce was the second pasta sauce I ever tried (Bolognese was obviously the first) and I fell in love with the moment I tasted it! I wasn't very good at cooking savoury dishes few years back and as I loved the sauce so much I resorted into using a ready made powder (shame on me!). As my skills in the kitchen developed I decided to try out the sauce from scratch. When I found out how easy it actually was to make the sauce I actually felt ashamed that I didn't try making it before -  I was so sure that something so delicious definitely required hours of complicated cooking, but I obviously was proven wrong.

I consider pasta carbonara a real treat as it manages to combine loads of good things into one dish - pasta, cream, bacon and Parmesan cheese, but it obviously isn't the healthiest of the options. This dish might have a 'treat' status for me, but regardless of that fact it is so simple and fast to make - it all takes basically as long as it takes for the pasta to cook. I really needed something to lift my mood a bit after spending a long day at university and since my sister is staying over there was no better excuse not to treat us to a nice home cooked pasta. This has undoubtedly been one of my favourite recipes for quite a few years now and I'm sure that once you've tried it you realise why :)

Ingredients
(Serves 2)
- 200g Penne (or any other pasta; I used wholegrain)
- 4 bacon rashers
- 2 eggs
- 25g Parmesan cheese (plus more for serving)
- 160ml cream

Directions
Bring a pot of water to boil and add salt. Then add the pasta and cook it until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, cut the bacon into small cubes and fry it. Then place the bacon pieces on a kitchen paper to dry off the excessive fat. In a medium saucepan, whisk together eggs, cream and the parmesan. Place the mixture on the hob and heat up, whisking constantly to avoid clumps. When the sauce starts to thicken add the bacon and mix until nicely combined.

When the pasta is ready, drain it and add into the sauce. Mix well, divide between two bowls and serve immediately with some freshly ground pepper and a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Recipe from a book "Pastaraamat"

Warm feta & pasta salad

I really love pasta - I'm pretty sure that if I could, I would happily live on pasta for the rest of my life. However, unlike some lucky people, I can't afford to eat pasta all the time - there is not enough time for me to spend in the gym to burn it off. However, to be honest, unless you sink the pasta in cream based sauce, pasta can be quite healthy, just go for the wholemeal version. I find salads with pasta a great way to enjoy the Italian delight, without having to feel guilty about it.

This warm salad is great for a quick mid-week meal or when you have pasta cravings that need to be satisfied. It is really flavourful and I absolutely love how the feta melts a bit and covers the hot pasta, resulting in a really creamy salad. Also, the saltiness of feta couples perfectly with the mild taste of spinach and the basil adds a nice Italian sense to the dish.

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
- 75g wholewheat fusilli
- 75g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 75g Greek feta, cubed
- 50g baby spinach (or other leafy green)
- 50g roast ham, cubed
- 4 basil leaves

Directions
Boil the pasta in salted water. In the meantime, place the halved tomatoes, cubed ham, baby spinach (torn into small pieces) and basil leaves (torn into small pieces) into a bow. Top it with cubed feta.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it and immediately place on top of the feta. Mix well and serve immediately.

Recipe from a book "Salatid 2"